I turned off the tube. My 1990s history teacher would be dismayed. I can hear him now: "A person must stay informed." He never could have imagined 24/7 doom and gloom or the bedlam that is social media. Both leave the body paralyzed, afraid of the world and everyone in it.
I chose to put my head in the sand and am happier for it. Long live blissful ignorance. I know what's going on. People tell me, and if I'm interested, I look it up. If not, it doesn't exist. I choose my existence.
The never-ending chatter drives a man mad. The liberal versus conservative mania. Wars and rumors of wars - Ukraine, Russia, Israel, Palestine. The climate crisis was global freezing, and now it's warming. New deadly viruses, each more dreadful than the last. People are so afraid of death that they've forgotten how to live.
I'm in the middle of the Midwest, USA. If I lived in Ukraine, I'd want to know about Russia. If I were in Israel or Gaza, sure, it'd be a big deal. But not in Iowa. The endless Trump chatter is exhausting and has no bearing on my life. Trump or Elon hasn't done one thing that affects me, yet everyone's acting like the country is coming to an end.
The only social media platforms I use are Stocktwits and Substack. I find what I want to know and ignore the rest. Most days, I choose blissful ignorance. Gone is the madness of Facebook and Twitter.
Media, mainstream, social, or alternative, is nothing but a fear fest that drives anxiety, division, and stress. Imagine how calm the world would be if everyone put down their phones. I left Twitter because it became an endless echo chamber filled with anger and rage.
I know nothing about the latest plane crash, war, virus, riot, protest, murder, or scandal. I have no problem doing due diligence, but not from some talking-head influencer chasing clicks and corrupting youth.
Sex sells, and so does fear. Porn rots. Fear controls. Uplifting news stories are brief, while death and destruction steal the spotlight. Positive stories don't hook the viewer. There's no rush in hope, and I get it. Doomscrolling keeps us locked in. We become addicted to the next story about invading migrant hordes, crashing markets, warfare, and the rise of so-called modern Hitlers.
Tune in by Tuning Out
I am tuning in by tuning out. A person doesn't have to live blind. There is enough information to stay up to date. Matthew McConaughey tells us data is digital gold, but I think it's fool’s. When the unexpected happens, we won't see it coming.
Young people are tuned in from the cradle to the grave. It's straight out of The Matrix—the 1999 original. Nobody saw it then, but we see it now. According to a U.S. Surgeon General report, over 11 million teenagers use social media, and in their own words, “almost constantly.” We are playing with fire. These kids need Neo and an army of unplugged soldiers to save them from the self-imposed prisons of modernity.
And it’s worse. I see kids with cell phones or tablets everywhere I go. We used the television as makeshift babysitters, but now the babysitter travels everywhere. Their whole life is on a screen.
We don't have to wait for proof of the mass destruction caused by everyone's faces being glued to the screens of supercomputers. Mainstream media should be outlawed, like cigarette advertisements. Kids’ minds have turned to mush. They are weak. They can't tell the difference between male and female.
I went to high school in the '90s. I didn’t know one trans person. Hell, I didn’t even know what a trans person was. We didn’t have school shootings. Sure, there were fights. We even had gangs, but it wasn’t like it is today.
On top of the widespread mental illness, kids are speedballing Xanax and Adderall daily, dispensed by the school nurse. The West has lost all standards. Christianity used to be the standard. To most Americans, God is dead. And Nietzsche, their prophet. And now, the wrath.
In 2024, the New York Post reported that Americans spend an entire month scrolling. An entire month! I can't do that anymore, and I won't.
I still remember riding my bike all day with my mother, not knowing where I was for hours on end every day. And this was normal. This was life for hundreds, no, thousands of years before the internet and social media.
I have tuned in by tuning out for all the reasons stated and more, and you should, too. Like Ram Dass, be here now, let go, and be free. Don’t be guilted into staying because you need to know how many people died in Gaza or Ukraine.
If you are like me, you will not be able to change one thing taking place in the world, outside of silly little cringe flags next to your bio name showing your so-called support for the next thing.
I am never going back. How could I? I don't care about what they want me to know. It's no longer my business; it's theirs, and they can keep it. I have tuned in by tuning out. I have tuned into me.
I haven't felt this spiritually fit since I was a passionate, on-fire-for-Christ teenager. My anxiety has never been lower, my blood pressure has dropped, and peace has filled my soul. I am in tune with myself, my soul, and God. And that, my friends, is all I need.
The amount of media all around us is ridiculous. Of course, you're doing the best thing a person can do- tuning out. I left most of social media in late 2024 and I know I feel better and have far less anxiety. Like you say, we can't do a lot about it, anyway. So, why let it run our lives? I think you made a wise decision. I love being on here, though, because I'm working toward something and connecting with so many cool people who actually enjoy reading. To better times, Nate.